The Cop's Whiskers
by Turretwithaview
Summary: ... or a little ball of trouble
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

They pulled up opposite the alley, the front driver's-side tyre riding up the curb slightly and then dropping off with a slight _thunk_ and a settling of springs. They released their belts and took a couple of heartbeats to glance at each other, Rick giving her his encouraging smile, Kate throwing him a stern 'behave' look which was totally wasted … not just because Castle was incapable of behaving, but also because her own twitching lips robbed the glare of any menace … she shook her head and sighed, yep, she had lost her badass mojo where Castle was concerned.

Both doors clunked shut as she pressed the remote and they stepped round the car, heading towards the uniform guarding the taped off entrance. With a nod in their direction, the officer lifted the tape for them to duck underneath and watched them join the ME and two detectives further down the alley.

"_Morning Perlmutter, boys, what do we have?_"

"_Morning Beckett, Castle_ .." answered the two detectives, whilst the ME returned the greeting but as usual paused before including the "_… Mr Castle_" rider at the end. The three cops hid their grins whilst Castle glowered at the impervious Medical Examiner.

"_Victim is Maria Somerville, 23. The name tag on her uniform matches the driver's license and papers in her purse found over there_ .." said Esposito as he pointed to a pile of empty crates and boxes stacked to one side of the alley "… _uniform belongs to the Broadway Hotel round the corner_" he finished.

Ryan flipped open his notebook, "_Receptionist and Manager confirm the vic's ID, say she finished her shift at six thirty and left as usual. No one saw or heard anything out of the ordinary. Uniforms are canvassing the area and I'm just heading back to the hotel to get a list of any colleagues who may have finished their shift at the same time, maybe they saw or heard something_".

Beckett nodded and crouched next to the ME "_COD?_"

"_Single GSW to the chest, fairly large-calibre, from the blood pooled below the body and the smudges and splatter on the wall here, she was probably shot from somewhere over by the crates, fell back against the brickwork and slid down into her present position .… and Mr Castle, I'm sure I can survive if you take a step back and stop crowding me …_"

She glanced up at her fiancée and hid a grin as he took a step away from the ME and mimed strangling him.

The ME continued as if nothing had happened "_Looks like a straightforward pop-and-drop, estimated time coincides with detective Ryan's inquiries … I'm guessing sometime early this morning, I should have more for you once I get her back to the morgue"_

Beckett nodded, thanked the ME and rose to her feet before turning to Esposito, "_Get CSU to work out the shooter's position and get a photo of the victim from there. Castle! Let's go see if we can find anything down here_"

Esposito nodded and stepped to one side as Beckett, with Castle following on her heels walked past him down the alley "_Whipped!_" he whispered as the writer walked past.

Castle grinned, and whispered back "_Only because the wrong ME's here! I know all about yesterday's booty call .._"

Beckett, ears sharp as ever, bit her lip to try and stop the grin curving her mouth as she glanced back and saw the colour flooding the detective's face.

As she and Castle walked further into the alleyway she raised her eyebrow at him. He shrugged back "_I don't know …" _waggling his eyebrows, "_but both of them with a couple of days off work … pretty easy to guess!_"

As they were walking past a couple of bins by a door with faded lettering indicating "_Rosa's Pasta Palace_" Becket suddenly stopped, turned and crouched down. Castle took a couple steps before realising his muse was no longer at his side and turned back. As he approached he could see she was bent over, holding something in her lap.

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_**AN: Please review if you feel you'd like to have more of this story**_


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

Stopping behind her he peered over her shoulder and couldn't stop the grin growing on his face. Cradled in her hand, face turned up and huge yellow-green eyes staring back at hazel-green ones was a tabby kitten, no more than four or five weeks old. As soon as Castle's large form appeared over Beckett's shoulder, the pint-sized kitten turned to look up at him, flattened its ears, crouched down even further into Kate's hand and emitted a hiss much too loud for its size.

Beckett chuckled as she stroked its back "_That's it little one, you tell him who's boss!_"

Castle tried to keep a straight face as he said "_Oh! That is sooo Beckett!_"

Kate's startled face peered round at him, eyebrows raised "_And just what is that supposed to mean?_"

"_Well it's so like you when I first got to know you, spitting at anything or anyone who came near you!_"

"_I did not!_" she retorted, then seeing his quizzical look, shrugged, "_Ok, maybe a bit …_" before a smile spread across her face and she turned back to the kitten "_Well little one, I've lost my ability to spit at Rick, so you're going to have to do it for the two of us!_"

The kitten meanwhile, obviously feeling safe in Kate's hands and realising that Castle wasn't such a threat after all had its ears back up and was purring away as Kate scratched behind it's ears.

Castle, scrunching down next to her let his finger run along Kate's thigh before bringing it up under the kitten's chin and stroking just below its jaw. He had to grin at both the shiver that ran through his muse and the contented purr and stretching neck of the kitten.

"_Magic fingers_" he whispered lewdly which earned him a thump from her elbow and a stern look from the kitten on having the 'magic finger' momentarily pulled away. "_Oh! I am so in trouble!_"

Kate raised her hand until the kitten was level with their faces, its back legs hanging either side of her hand whilst it gripped her wrist tightly with its front paws. "_Well, little one, and what are we going to do with you?_" The answer was a cute meow and a pushing back of its head against the fingers she was still running from ears to back. She then cradled it against her chin and turned both their faces to stare at Castle.

One look at the two sets of eyes and Kate's pouting look and he threw his hands in the air "_Ok, ok, but how are you going to get through today with him ... her ... it?_"

"_Oh that's no problem ..."_ she grinned, _"... possible witness to the crime!_"

"_Yeah! And Gates is really going to fall for that one!_"

Kate shrugged, pushed herself up with a hand on Castle's knee and tucked the kitten into her arm. Castle also stood, looking down at the tiny ball of fur that was contentedly purring in the crook of her arm, eyes tightly closed and paws kneading on the material of her coat. He shook his head and smiled at them both.

"_Come on Castle! There's a crime scene to investigate!_"

With a gasp and his mouth opening and closing like a guppy, Rick watched his muse stride away down the alley. It took him a couple of seconds for his brain to engage gear before letting out a grunt and hurrying to catch her up.

The alley ended at a blank, graffiti covered wall with a rubbish container pushed against it, a broken bottle and a couple of crushed cans in the corner. They stood there for a moment, looking around before retracing their steps to where Perlmutter was overseeing the bagging of the body whilst CSU carefully went through the boxes and crates for any evidence.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

As they approached, Esposito turned to them. "_Yo! Beckett, we should be wrappi .. ng ... up ..._" he came to a stop as he stared at the two pointed ears and yellow eyes staring at him from Beckett's arm. He looked up at his boss a look of incredulity on his face as he pointed at the kitten and said "_Beckett, Really?_"

Kate shrugged "_Potential witness_"

Esposito's eyes travelled from his boss to Castle, back to Beckett and finally down to bundle of fur that just stared back at him totally unconcerned. With a shake of his head he mumbled something about checking in with Ryan and headed out the alleyway.

Climbing into the car, Kate picked the kitten up, kissed its nose and passed it over to Castle, "_Here you are Rick, look after Spitfire whilst I drive_"

"_Spitfire? ... Well, I reckon I can live with that ..._" he grinned as he held the kitten up in front of his face and said "_Ok, little guy, looks like you've been named Spitfire ... what do you think of that, huh?_" Two bright eyes watched him back, ears twitching as his words floated past them, before its mouth opened in a tremendous yawn and eyes slid shut.

"_Hold him tight Castle, we don't know how he'll react to the car starting_" Rick lowered the kitten onto his lap and stroked it's head with one hand whilst the other took a careful hold round neck and shoulders.

"_Him, huh?_"

Kate shrugged adding "_I'll get Lanie to tell me if it's a he or a she_" and started the car, keeping a careful eye on the ball of fur on Castle's lap. The head came up and it began to meow, struggling to get out of Rick's hands as the slight vibrations and the sound of the engine invaded the space. Kate bent down and running her fingers around its ears began talking in a soothing voice.

Rick marvelled at how, only minutes after feeling the poor thing begin trembling in his hands, Kate's soothing voice and stroking had the desired effect. As she straightened back up, Rick could see the Uniform at the end of the alley looking their way. He had a tough time trying to keep a straight face and contain his laughter. Beckett looked at him and said "_Ok, Castle, spit it out!_"

"_Oh, it's nothing Beckett, I'm just hoping the cop over there doesn't come over to book us for a two eight eight!_"

Beckett looked at him for a second, then realising his meaning whacked him on the arm "_Castle!_" as she hid her face and the blush climbing up her neck.

"_There's an even worse thought ._..." he petered out, glancing fearfully at her, as they headed back towards the precinct, his fingers ruffling the ears to the contented sound of purring.

With a humph she glanced at him and eventually asked "_What?_"

"_If you take Spitfire into the precinct ... no, nothing.._." there was no way he was going to bring up Beckett's Pussy in that context ... no way!

"_What Castle, whatever it is, just spit it out!_"

"_Ah ... I .. was just thinking that what if Gates finds out?_"

"_So, we found him and you are looking for a vet so you can take him in and have him checked over in case it belongs to someone"_

"_And you think she's just going to take that sitting down?_"

"_Well Rick dear,_" she said in her most dulcet voice, "..._ you'll just have to take Spitfire home until we can sort something out!_"

With a sigh he scratched Spitfire under the chin and addressing him or her, said "_I knew it, just as Gates is getting sweet on me I have to go and do something to get her all riled up again!_"

"_Seriously Rick, do you mind? Taking Spitfire home I mean?_"

He shook his head smiling down at the little creature that was smaller than his hand. "_No, but he may belong to someone ... we'll have put some notices up in the area once the crime scene has been cleared, maybe someone will reclaim him or her, we'll also have to have a vet check it out, buy some toys, a bed ..._"

"_Whoa! Hold your horses Rick, I know you, by tomorrow the loft will be full of toys, climbing posts and whatever. Let's just take it a step at a time, ok?"_

* * *

**_AN / (Police code) 288 - Lewd conduct_**


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

As the lift doors slid open onto the homicide floor, Kate pushed Castle ahead of her and told him to head for the break room. Following behind and using his bulk to shield herself from Gates' office, she kept looking around to make sure Espo was nowhere in sight. As soon as the door was closed behind them, she instructed Castle to put a bit of milk, diluted with plenty of water in one of the coffee cup dishes.

With a muttered complaint of bossy women he did as told and carefully placed it on the floor by the cabinets. Kate knelt on the floor placed Spitfire next to the dish, dipped her finger in the liquid and touched it to the kittens mouth. Spitfire immediately backed away, shaking its head before it's little pink tongue popped out to lick at the droplet on its mouth.

A few more finger-dipping tries seemed to convince the little tyke that maybe that concoction wasn't too bad and it was soon crouched by the dish inexpertly lapping away. Carefully moving back, she stood up, leaving Castle crouched by the dish slowly running his finger up and down the kitten's curved back.

"_Ok Castle, keep an eye on it whilst I get the murder board set up and contact Lanie … oh! And don't let him .. it .. out of your sight, I don't want Gates finding out if possible!_"

Rick just grinned and squinted up at her from his position, "_Yes ma'am!_"

Kate checked through the windows onto the bullpen and quickly bent down to crush her lips against his, running her fingers through the hair at the back of his neck and feeling Rick's hand run up her leg and curl round her right buttock. With a smile she pulled his hand away and whispered "_Later_"

It was another half hour before Kate opened the door to the break room, stopping in the doorway and biting her lip at the picture of Castle sitting on the couch with the kitten stretched out on its back along his legs, all four paws in the air as Rick gently rubbed its tummy and a loud purr emanating from the little fur ball.

"_Hey_"

He looked up at her and smiled, "_Had some of that milk and water to drink and then collapsed into a deep sleep … reminds me of me … a bit …_" he added with a grin.

Beckett rolled her eyes and asked "_Any luck with seeing if it's a he or a she?_"

Rick shook his head "_Not my field of expertise I'm afraid, now if it was Cat Woman …. her I'd have no problem with sexi … ing_ …" he came to a stop at the full-watted glare coming from Kate. Pushing her shoulder off the doorjamb, she stalked the two steps till she'd reached him and hands on hips, narrowed her eyes at him. Rick gulped, trying to clear the lump which had suddenly morphed into his throat.

"_Richard … Edgar … Alexander … Rodgers … Castle_ …" each word carefully spaced out and recited in a throaty voice which had his heart beating at well above safety levels "…_ if … I … ever … catch … you … sexing … anyone … __**else**__ … up _…" here a longer pause "…_ I will take you to a vet and have him do a bit of snipping …. Do I make myself clear?_"

With an audible gulp and a madly nodding head, Rick showed her that he clearly understood where she was coming from. She held her narrow-eyed glare for what felt to him like an eternity before nodding and sitting down on the couch next to him, her face turned away to hide the laughter threatening to burst out of her. Once she'd got herself under control, she turned back to him, pulling her phone from her pocket, and said "_Ok, Castle, we need to send Lanie a picture, so hold Spitfire up and let me take a pic of its tail end_"

She'd just taken a second picture in case the first wasn't good enough when the door swung open and Espo took a step into the room before coming to a sudden stop.

"_Ugh!_" he grunted out as he observed Castle holding the kitten, tummy up, back legs spread and Kate taking a close-up of the undercarriage "_You guys should really think about making little Castle babies instead of degenerate photography!_"

Beckett just gave him a glare which had no effect and Castle tried to think of a smart answer which unfortunately didn't make its presence felt, leaving him opening and closing his mouth in a totally ineffectual way.

"_Whipped!_" grinned the detective before walking across to the coffee machine and starting to put together his espresso.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

Castle had found a clean dishcloth in one of the break room cabinets and checking for bandits in the bull pen, opened the door and headed across to his usual place by Beckett's desk. What started as a warm glance as he took his seat turned into raised eyebrows as he lent forwards, pulled her bottom drawer open and pushed her stuff to one side.

The eyebrows climbed slowly down her forehead again as he pulled the cloth from his pocket, bunched it into the space he'd created in the draw and a then deposited the little ball of fur in its centre. Two large eyes peered up at them and an almost silent meow jerked the little body.

Kate grinned, took a quick glance round the bull pen and another one at Gates' office before bending down and fondling the little head. Spitfire, now reunited with 'mommy' obviously thought things had improved and after licking her finger, turned within the cloth a few times before settling down with an audible sigh.

Cop and writer grinned at each other across the desk before he carefully closed the drawer a bit, just leaving it open enough for them to be able to check on the occupant. Just then Beckett's phone rang and looking at the caller ID she thumbed the phone and said "_Hi Laney, what can you tell me?_"

"_Girl! Are you crazy! Since when am I supposed to know a cat's ding-a-ling from a she cat's doodiddle!_"

Castle's snort of amusement drew the attention of both Espo and Ryan who were busy at their computers, "_You two playing doctors and nurses boss?_"

"_No Espo, I'll leave those children's games to you and a certain ME!_" grinning as an undecipherable squawk came from the phone in her hand.

One slightly chastised Latino detective ducked back behind his computer whilst a grinning Irish one flipped the page on the file he was reading.

"_Well Lanie can you make it out?_"

There was an audible sigh from the ME, "_Yeah, ok girlfriend, I can tell you that you and writer boy are now the proud parents of a girl!_"

Castle groaned "_Not another one … I was so hoping for a boy … it's not fair_ …"

"_Something I should know about Detective, Mr Castle?_"

Gates' voice from behind them startled them and nearly made Castle fall off his chair. Kate quickly swiped her phone to kill the call and Castle instinctively stood up before turning to face the Captain "_No! No sir … Captain Gates sir … we ..uh .. we …um … my cousin sir … that's it … my cousin, thrice removed that is … she's just .. um found out she's expecting!_"

Gates just stood there glaring at him whilst Kate quietly groaned and let her head fall forwards onto the desk with an audible thump. The snort from behind the Irishman's screen was interrupted by a meow which resonated within the partially closed drawer as the thump of Kate's head woke the kitten up.

Gates' glare, which had, up till that moment, remained fixed on a thoroughly agitated writer suddenly snapped towards the desk. Castle, brain working once more, quickly pulled his phone from his pocket as Beckett prayed that Spitfire would remain silent. Perhaps the gods had decided to give them a break, as Gates, once more glaring at the writer who was waving his phone around as if scattering fairy dust, shook her head in disapproval and cryptically muttered "_I expected better from you Mr Castle!_" before turning and heading back to her office.

"_Phew!_" uttered one thoroughly exhausted writer as he flopped back into his chair whilst Beckett pulled open the drawer slightly and keeping a wary eye on the Captain's office, stroked the kitten and murmured "_Well there little girl, that was close!_"

Neither of them saw the two grinning detectives fist bumping. Esposito texted _Twenty bucks they get caught before the day's out!_ before sending it to both Ryan and Lanie.

The ME's answer was short and sweet _In your dreams loverboy!_

Ryan, after giving it a bit of consideration and with his inveterate belief in the _Luck of the Irish_ accepted.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

The information on the murder board was slowly building up as reports and information came in. So far there was nothing to make them think it was anything other than a pointless murder for the money Maria Somerville had been carrying in her purse. Even Castle had failed to come up with one of his outlandish theories, though to be fair to him Beckett thought, it probably had to do more with the antics of Spitfire chasing a Ping-Pong ball in the drawer than with any lack of crazy ideas.

Castle had spent time on his phone looking for a vet who could fit them in that day and finally found one on the corner of Spring and Mercer who could see him around lunchtime. She'd agreed to his taking Spitfire there before picking up food and drinks for them all on the way back.

By twelve Castle was ready to leave, Beckett fussing around him, making sure Spitfire was properly settled in the archive box she's pinched from under Miller's table when he wasn't looking, the cloth and Ping-Pong ball in place and threats of dire punishments and fates worse than death if he didn't bring her back safe and sound.

Castle just grinned at her and when he was sure no one was observing them he sneaked in a kiss on the corner of her mouth and whispered "_Those three kids we're going to have … you are so going to be an incredible mom!_"

Her startled look was replaced by a grin and with a slap on his chest and a "_Keep dreaming Castle!_" retort she'd pushed towards the lift. It was almost an hour and a half later when the pinging of the lift had her looking up and the sight of Castle loaded down with carrier bags and boxes made her grin before she was on her feet and opening the break room door for him.

A quick check that the coast was clear and she'd followed him in to the room, closing the door behind her and delving into the archive box to pull Spitfire out and give her a cuddle. Castle looked on in amusement as he placed the remaining box and bags on the table, before leaning against it and observing Kickass Kate making silly faces and noises. There were a number of inmates at Rikers and other prisons who would not have believed their eyes had they been privy to the current scene.

"_Stop staring Castle! So, what did the vet have to say?_"

"_Firstly that she's fine, given the probability she's a stray. Just needs feeding up a little and that if she's not claimed by anyone then we should take her back in about a week or two at most to get her chipped and vaccinated_".

By the time he'd pulled out the special milk and poured some into a dish, Kate was looking through the carrier bag containing sachets of special kitten food, cat tray, a bag of litter, a food dish, a clockwork mouse, a hollow ball with bells inside, a scratching pad … she shook her head, typical Castle, they didn't even know if they could keep Spitfire and he'd already bought her a bag full of toys …. Of course, she had to admit, that was one of the reasons she loved him, his enthusiasm and optimism!

They place the archive box in the corner away from the door and put the dish of milk and the cloth inside it before putting Spitfire inside, her nose near the dish. A bit of encouragement from Kate's finger and she was soon lapping it up. Meanwhile Rick's got the food and drinks out on the table and is signaling the boys.

They try to be macho about it, both Ryan and Espo, but it's the ex-soldier who first succumbs to curiosity and cuteness, first by crouching next to the box and watching the ball of fur crawl from the dish up onto the cloth and sit there, tail wrapped round her, licking her paw and wiping her face with it. An occasional big-eyed glance is thrown the detective's way, a pause in wiping, an almost silent meow which makes the little body hiccup … and he's picking her up, rubbing his fingers on her cheek and saying "_Hola chica!_"

"_If a certain ME I know hears you, you're going to be walking a dangerous path!_" warns Castle

The detective ignores him but hands the little kitten over to Ryan when the Irishman pleads for the third or fourth time. Beckett glares at Espo when some ten minutes later she catches him trying to surreptitiously feed Spitfire a piece of beef in oyster sauce; he tries to pretend he was just cooling it down by waving the chop sticks around. Beckett puts her hand out and Ryan reluctantly cedes custody, the probability of their boss knocking their heads together if he doesn't increasing exponentially.


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

They'd cleared the table, binned the empty boxes and tubs of food and headed back out to the bull pen. Castle waited till Kate had her bottom drawer open, cloth in place and had checked that Gates wasn't on the prowl. As soon as he got the nod, he picked Spitfire out of the box and carried her over to the desk.

As soon as she found herself back on her cloth, Spitfire settled down, and after Kate had made sure, several times, that she was ok, they got back to the murder board and theory building. CCTV footage showed an individual in a hoodie in the area at the estimated time of Maria's murder and they were waiting for the arrival of one of her work colleagues who had finished his shift at the same time. Hopefully he would be able to shed some light on what had happened.

An hour and a half later and they had a possible lead. Karl Abrahams, had noticed a guy in similar getup to the one on CCTV waiting at his bus stop just west of the hotel. The guy had walked off in the same direction as Maria, and though he hadn't though anything of it at the time, he _had_ got a look at him. He was presently sitting with the tech working on the facial composites software.

If they could get a decent enough composite then Ryan and Espo could canvas the local businesses, see if they could fi ….

"_Detective Beckett!_" The bellow … it could hardly be described as anything less … spun all four of them round to stare at the Captain's office. Eyebrows raised they glanced at each other and then suddenly all had the same idea. As if controlled by the same puppeteer, all four turned to look at the half-opened drawer of Beckett's desk … with a gasp she bent down and pulled the drawer fully open … nothing, no fur ball!

With a gulp she turned to the three men and in a loud whisper "_Find her!_" before squaring her shoulders and heading for the Captain's office. With trepidation she knocked on the door and pushed it open. Captain Victoria 'Iron' Gates was standing talking on the phone. As Kate entered she signalled her to close the door and continues talking to whoever it was on the other end. Kate discreetly looked around the office, edging herself towards the corner of the desk and leaning slightly sideways in search of a mobile ball of fur .. nothing. She suddenly became aware of Gate's raised eyebrows and hastily adopted the proper stance, 'wooden-faced Beckett' at her best.

Eventually Gates finished her conversation, which had from Kate's end been just a series of '_Yeses_', '_Nos_' and '_Uhums_'. As soon as the phone hit the cradle the Captain pointed to it and said "_The DA testing the political waters_" and the look on her face spoke volumes about her opinion on said matter. "_What I am interested in is what progre…_" She came to a standstill as she stared, eyes the size of saucers out the window towards the bullpen.

Kate, with a sinking feeling spun round to see what had drawn her boss' attention and almost giggled at the sight.

Castle, Espo and Ryan were all kneeling on the floor, heads down, looking under the desks obviously still in search of Spitfire … unfortunately, though they were each looking under a different desk, they were all three facing the same way, with the result that three male bums were all aimed in the Captain's direction. Kate had to make a real effort not to twist her head sideways and start comparing!

"_Detective, I am pretty sure Detective Esposito has not become a Muslim, I know Detective Ryan is Catholic and I would bet my pension Mr Castle would not be allowed within a hundred yards of a Mosque … just what the hell is going on out there?_"

"_Uhm .. I think Castle dropped his phone and I assume the others are helping him look for it_ .." she managed to get out without too much hesitation. God! Castle was rubbing off on her too much!

"_Well tell them NYPD does not pay them to search for lost phones … unless it involves a murder, and trust me, right now there just might be one!_" she said glaring out at the three bums that had slowly inched their way forwards, though still unfortunately offering themselves for inspection.

"_Yes Captain, I'll just go … tell them to .. uhm … stop_" pointing with her thumb over her shoulder and backing out.


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

"_Hey, what are you three doing?!_" she got out in a half-strangled whisper. All three men, still on hands and knees turned their head to look at her "_Flashing your asses at the boss?_"

For a moment they looked like _see no evil, hear no evil_, _speak no evil _as Ryan squeezed his eyes shut, Espo slapped a hand to the side of his face and Castle bit on his knuckle, she was hard pressed not to burst out laughing.

All three quickly stood up, brushing invisible dust off their knees and trying not to look over their shoulders. "_Is Guppy Gates still in the fish tank?_" whispers Castle at which the other three almost double up in laughter, Kate desperately turning to the murder board to hide her face.

"_There you are!_" she said and crooked a finger at the others. They all crowded round her desk and leant over to look. Standing three-legged at one of the murder board's feet, trying to scratch the floor over a small puddle is Spitfire. They all look at each other and grin before guiltily glancing at Gate's office.

"_I'll get some paper_" says Castle heading to the break room, whilst Kate picks Spitfire up returning her to her drawer and the two boys head back to their desks. Rick's back a few moments later with some kitchen paper and wipes up the little puddle before dumping the ball of paper in the bin. "_Well waterworks are functioning anyway!_"

Kate nodded, her fingernails scratching around Spitfire's ears and causing a steady rumbling purr to emanate from the drawer. Her phone went, Perlmutter on the other end, she needed to go see what the ME's found and she wants Rick with her (she loves how the two men get on each other's wick), so after a glance towards the Captain's office she scooped the kitten up, carried her over to the boys' desks and settled her next to Ryan's keyboard.

The Irishman glanced up from the file he was reading, smiling as he saw Spitfire, ears pointed forwards, staring at him from the desk top.

He dropped the file into his lap and scooped the kitten up, cradling her upside down in one hand whilst the other tickled her tummy. Spitfire grabbed at his fingers with her paws, trying to bite his thumb in the process. From a couple of feet away Espo threw a disgusted look at his partner, shook his head and turned back to typing up his notes.

"_Ok Castle, let's go see what Perlmutter's found, then we can come back to cuddle_" she hid her grin at the startled look all three men threw her way and with raised eyebrows and a mock Beckett Glare she pointed at the kitten. There's an apologetic look from Rick, a red faced one from Kevin and a _yuck!_ one from Javi. Kate had a tough time not laughing as she headed for the lift, Rick trailing behind her.

They were away for the best part of an hour as the ME gave her a more detailed report on his findings, including the partial print on the metallic catch of the purse found in the alley. It was being run through the system right then and she'd be informed the moment a match came up.

They got back to the precinct and just as Castle was about to walk into the lift she caught his sleeve and nodded her head at the stairs. He looked at her, puzzled, but seeing her wink at him decided to follow her up. As they reached the homicide floor she put her finger to her lips and signalled him to follow her quietly.

They poked their heads round the corner and both had to grin at the scene before them. Ryan was sitting there, feet up on an opened drawer giggling and telling Javi he was mean. Espo was at his desk, moving the pointer of the mouse around the screen whilst Spitfire, crouched just in front of it kept springing up and trying to catch the pointer with her paws. Every now and again both cops would glance towards the Captain's office to make sure she wasn't around.

"_So, what have you got for me boys?_" said Kate as she strode out into the bullpen, Castle in close attendance and a look of glee on his face. There was a startled yelp from Ryan as he tried to straighten up, getting his feet tangled in the drawer and nearly falling out his chair in the process.

Espo looked around guiltily, scooped Spitfire off the desk and shoved her unceremoniously into Ryan's lap, some weird concept about getting rid of the cookie making him look less guilty foremost in his mind. The fact that he had clearly been caught playing with the kitten making plausible deniability a non-started had yet to filter through his brain.


End file.
